God came to Balaam, and said, “Who are these men with you?”
Parallel Translations
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God came to Balaam, and said, “Who are these men with you?”
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And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
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And God came unto Balaam, and said: 'What men are these with thee?'
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to Numbers 22:9 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a man’s wife.”
- Numbers 22:20 God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak to you, that you shall do.”
- Genesis 3:9-11 Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself.” God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
- Genesis 4:9 Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel, your brother?” He said, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
- Genesis 16:8 He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where did you come from? Where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.”
- Exodus 4:2 Yahweh said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.”
- 2 Kings 20:14-15 Then Isaiah the prophet came to king Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? From where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, even from Babylon.” He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.”
- Daniel 4:31-32 While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from the sky, saying, “O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: ‘The kingdom has departed from you. You shall be driven from men; and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be made to eat grass as oxen. Seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.’ ”
- Genesis 31:24 God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Be careful that you don’t speak to Jacob either good or bad.”
- Genesis 41:25 Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh.
- Daniel 2:45 Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what will happen hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”
- Matthew 7:22 Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’
- Matthew 24:24 For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.
- John 11:51 Now he didn’t say this of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 22:9 And God came unto Balaam, and said,…
Num 22:9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men [are] these with thee?
Ver. 9. And God came to Balaam.] So he came to Abimelech, to Laban, &c. He never credited his word to these, as he did to the holy prophets, of whom it is said, "The word of the Lord came to them."
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain God came unto Balaam, not to gratify his covetous…
God came unto Balaam, not to gratify his covetous desire, but to advance his own honour and service, even by the counsels of his enemies. He asketh not for his own information, but partly that Balaam by repeating the thing in God’s presence might be convinced and ashamed of his sin and folly in offering his service in such a cursed business; and partly for a foundation to the following answer.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Balaam said unto God,.... In answer to the…
And Balaam said unto God,.... In answer to the question he put to him:
Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me; these men, and a message by them:
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saying; as follows.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain What men are these - He asks this that…
What men are these - He asks this that Balaam by repeating the thing in God's presence might be convinced and ashamed of his sin and folly, in offering his service in such a business: and for a foundation to the following answer.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Num 22:9. What men are these? — He asks…
Num 22:9. What men are these? — He asks this that Balaam, by repeating the thing in God’s presence, might be convinced and ashamed of his sin and folly, in offering his service in such a business, and for a foundation to the following answer.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain 9And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men…
B.—BALAAM’S FORMAL BUT HEARTLESS REFUSAL
Num_22:9-14
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9And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee? 10And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent 11unto me, saying, Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure 2I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out. 12And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed. 13And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you. 14And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[Num_22:11. קָכָהּ from a root which signifies to hollow out; to pierce, perforate, and so curse from the penetrating power of the curse. Hirsch regards it as an anomalous form used in the sense of curse only in this narrative, and signifying to hollow, make empty, to take away the whole contents of its object—to make it as chaff—or a shadow.—A. G.].
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
God (Elohim) the writer tells us comes to Balaam in the night. Balaam speaks of Jehovah as if he knew the God of Salvation. [He had this knowledge partly from the primeval traditions which were probably preserved more fully and clearly in his native region than elsewhere, but mainly from the report of the great things which God had done in the deliverance and leading of His people, which had spread far and wide and produced a deep impression on all the neighboring tribes. Balaam was prepared to welcome the report and turn it to his own selfish ends, if possible. See Kurtz’s History.—A. G.]. What men are these with thee? asks Jehovah, so that his vague, uneasy suspicion that these guests might bring him to ruin, might work itself out clearly. [Hengstenberg: The question was intended to awaken the slumbering conscience of Balaam, to lead him to reflect upon the proposal which they had made, and to break the force of his sinful inclination.—A. G.]. Balak had said He whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed. But God speaks otherwise. Thou shalt not curse the people, for they are blessed, i.e., thy curses would have no effect. The cunning seer, however, tells them nothing of this; he simply says: The lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.—The answer was intelligible to the Moabitish courtiers. [Their report to Balak shows clearly that they understood the position and inclination of Balaam. They saw that he wished to come, and that a larger bribe would probably bring him. Balaam does not appear to have sought the counsel of God. When asked, Who are those men with thee? the question was a surprise to him. And he fails intentionally to give to the messengers the very gist and kernel of the announcement God made to him. That would have defeated his secret plan and hopes. It would have convinced Balak and Midian that their effort was useless.—A. G.].
Footnotes:
[2]Marg. I shall prevail in fighting against them.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 9. What men are these with thee — Says…
9. What men are these with thee — Says Calvin, “By asking the question, ‘Who are these men?’ God indirectly rebukes Balaam’s perverse inclination to go with the messengers.” But Knobel sees no reproof in these words, which he thinks only served to introduce the dialogue.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (9) What men are these with thee?—This inquiry, like…
(9) What men are these with thee?—This inquiry, like that addressed to Elijah, “What doest thou here?” (1Ki_19:9), or that to Hezekiah, “What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee?” and “What have they seen in thine house?” (Isa_39:3-4) was calculated to arouse the slumbering conscience of Balaam, and to open his eyes to a perception of his sin and of his danger.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 God came to Balaam
God came to Balaam
"God appeared to Balaam"
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Who are these men who came to you?
Yahweh uses a question to introduce a new topic of conversation. This rhetorical question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Tell me about these men who came to you." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Balak ... Zippor
These are the names of men. See how you translated these in Numbers 22:2.
Look, the people ... drive them out
Balaam restates the message that Balak sent to him. See how you translated many of these phrases in Numbers 22:5-6.
drive them out
"chase them away"
translationWords
God
Balaam
Moab
Egypt
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 22:9-18 God prohibited Balaam from going with Balak’s messengers.
22:9-18 God prohibited Balaam from going with Balak’s messengers.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.